To amend title 46, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Transportation to ensure that all cargoes procured, furnished, or financed by the Department of Transportation are transported on privately-owned commercial vessels of the United States, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the …
Mr. Carbajal (for himself and Mr. Ezell) introduced the following …
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass
American Cargo for American Ships Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
Amends cargo preference requirements to mandate that 100% of Department of Transportation-procured or financed cargo be transported on privately-owned U.S. commercial vessels when available at fair and reasonable rates.
Who Benefits and How
U.S. maritime industry benefits from guaranteed cargo for American-flagged vessels. U.S. merchant mariners gain job security. National security benefits from maintained maritime capacity.
Who Bears the Burden and How
DOT may pay higher shipping costs if U.S. vessel rates exceed foreign competitors. Foreign-flagged vessels lose DOT cargo opportunities.
Key Provisions
- 100% cargo preference for DOT-procured/financed materials
- Applies separately to dry bulk, dry cargo liners, and tankers
- Must be available at fair and reasonable rates
- Ensures fair participation of U.S. commercial vessels
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires 100% of DOT-financed cargo to be transported on U.S. vessels
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Strengthen U.S. maritime industry through cargo preference mandates"
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of Transportation
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology